


Breakfast

by artitech



Series: Rarepairs [3]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Babysitter!Akaashi, Comfort, Dad!Kenma, Dialogue Heavy, Fluff, Gamer Kozume Kenma, Getting Together, Kenma is kind of a mess, Kid!Shouyou, M/M, Mild Angst, No Beta we die like Kings, POV Kozume Kenma, Phone Calls & Telephones, Pro Gamer Kozume Kenma, Shouyou is seven, but he’s a really good dad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-31
Updated: 2020-08-31
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:28:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,266
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26219398
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/artitech/pseuds/artitech
Summary: Akaashi was a lot prettier in person.Kenma needs to find a babysitter as fast as possible.Wrote this because I want more AkaKen that isn’t BokuAkaKuroKen. Not that I don’t love that… but we need more of just the two.
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji/Kozume Kenma
Series: Rarepairs [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1801342
Comments: 1
Kudos: 89





	Breakfast

Most of the time, Kenma was a stay-at-home dad. He worked part-time as a videogame tester and streamed himself playing games as a side job. When he wasn’t working, he spent time with his young son, Shouyou, who was the happiest, most bubbly boy he’d ever known. It was a good thing Kenma was a stay-at-home dad, too, because what daycare would take an over-excitable seven year-old?

The problem was, this coming weekend, Kenma had been asked to fly across the country to examine and test some new AR technology, due to his fame in the streaming world and his experience with testing. This meant that Shouyou needed a babysitter. Kenma certainly didn’t trust any of the local teenagers to take care of Shouyou, let alone for two whole days, and Shoyou’s friend’s parents tended to dislike Kenma.

As a result of this, Kenma found himself scouring the internet for a reputable babysitter who could deal with Shouyou’s outbursts of energy and neediness. Although many candidates looked promising, prices were high, and being a single-income household didn’t pull in much money. The time passed from Thursday night to Friday morning, and Kenma decided to put it off until later.

When he woke up again, it was to Shouyou jumping at the base of the bed.

“Daddy, you’re not gonna leave me here alone, right? I don’t know how to cook,” Shouyou said, climbing into Kenma’s lap. Kenma wrapped his arms around his son and hugged him.

“Of course not, Shouyou. I’m just trying to find the perfect person to take my place.”

“I’ll help! I want to help,” Shouyou said. He stared into Kenma’s eyes and pursed his lips.

“What’s the magic word?”

“Pleeeease?”

“Alright, you can help me.” Kenma pulled his laptop from the bedside table and put it in front of him. Shouyou turned around and nestled into his dad’s lap while Kenma pulled up the website he’d been looking through. He scrolled mindlessly for a bit. The first few pages were ones he’d already looked through.

Just as his thoughts began to drift, his attention was drawn by Shouyou poking the screen repeatedly.

“Who’s that?”

Kenma clicked on the man’s picture and his profile popped up.

_ Name: Akaashi Keiji _

_ Age: 23 (24 in December) _

_ Experience: Assistant lead therapist at an Occupational Therapy clinic, former 2nd grade assistant teacher. _

_ Skills: Certified in CPR, first aid, and water safety. Cooking, driving. _

_ Special Skills: Able to perform injections for diabetes/allergies if necessary.  _

_ Record: None. _

_ Rating: 9.5/10 _

_ Rates: $20 per hour plus travel expenses. Non-negotiable. _

_ Bio: Hello! My name is Akaashi Keiji and I’d be honoured to work with you and your kid(s). I’ve been doing babysitting as a side job for about three years. I tend to work best with energetic kids  _ (“I’m energetic!” exclaimed Shouyou.)  _ and I love to work with them to help them channel their energy into a specific hobby or activity. I can cook in several cuisines and am skilled in baking as well. I’ve recently gotten my water safety certification, so if you would like me to take your kid(s) to the pool or beach, you can rest assured they’ll be safe. I’m also willing to provide basic occupational therapy (fine motor, walking, etc.) free of additional charge. I do not babysit for children under 3 at this time, unfortunately. _

Kenma considered his options. He needed to book a babysitter by noon that day, per the website’s rules, and if he continued searching, this opportunity might get snatched up by some other busy parent. He clicked the ‘book now’ button and sent off a message to the man.

_ Good morning. _

_ My name is Kozume Kenma. I’m going to be off on a work trip tomorrow morning through Sunday evening. My son, Shouyou, is seven. Would you be available to babysit through this time?  _

_ Thank you for considering. _

_ Kozume _

Not five minutes later, he received a response.

_ Good morning, Kozume! _ _  
_ _ I am indeed free all this weekend. If you could send me an address and a list of important information (including emergency contact information), that would be delightful. Will this be a one-time thing, or scheduled? _

_ Sincerely, Akaashi _

Kenma searched through his files, scanned the necessary information, and attached to an email.

_ Attached is what you’ve asked for. I believe this will be a one-time booking, but if all goes well, I may ask you to babysit again in the future. I must warn you that Shouyou is a very active boy. He will likely wake you up on Sunday morning quite early. I hope you can make good blueberry pancakes. _

~~

The next morning, just as Kenma finished packing his bags, Shouyou burst into his room.

“Daddy, someone’s at the door.”

“That’ll be Akaashi. Could you let him in, please? I’ll be right there.”

“Okay!” Shouyou raced out of the room. Kenma zipped up his bag and hefted it over his shoulder. He made his way to the front room.

Akaashi was a lot prettier in person.

Shouyou had clearly crawled up into Akaashi’s arms, because his bag was dropped unceremoniously at his feet.

Akaashi bowed slightly. “Good morning, Kozume-san.”

Kenma coughed. “Please, just call me Kenma. Shouyou would get confused.”

“Call me Keiji, then,” replied Akaashi, smiling. Kenma nodded enthusiastically.

“Let me show you around. You’ll be sleeping in my room, it’s not a huge apartment.” Kenma gave Akaashi a brief tour and then bid him and Shouyou farewell.

“I’ll call you tonight, alright Shouyou?” Shouyou nodded and waved bye to his dad.

~~   
The flight was rather uneventful. The company had gotten Kenma a first-class seat, but the two hour flight warranted no real need. He sipped a warm coffee and listened to music for most of it. When they landed, he was driven to a hotel near the company building. The first day of “testing” wasn’t really all that. It was mostly a tour of the facilities and schmoozing with some high-ranking corporates. It was exhausting.

When Kenma finally got back to the hotel, he wanted nothing more than to flop into the oversized bed and sleep, but he’d promised Shouyou that he would call. He pulled out his phone and dialed home. The phone rang twice before picking up.

“Hello?” came Akaashi’s- no, Keiji’s voice.

“Hey, it’s Kenma. How’s Shouyou doing?”

“He’s doing great. He just got out of the bath and we’re watching a movie now while I blow dry his hair.”

Kenma found it absurd that Keiji felt the need to blow dry Shouyou’s hair, but didn’t mention it. “Can I talk to him?”

“Of course, of course!” Kenma heard Keiji tell Shouyou ‘it’s your dad’ and then Shouyou’s voice came through the phone.

“Hi Daddy!”

“Hi, Shouyou. How are you doing, honey?”

“Great! Keiji and I worked on my homework, and then we made sandwiches, and then we went to the park, but it rained, so we came home and he made weird noodles for dinner but they were really good, and then I took a bath, and now I’m watching a movie and he said he’s gonna get me some ice cream when he’s done with my hair. Also,” Shouyou’s voice dropped to a whisper, “Don’t tell him I said this but he said he likes your hair.”

“I heard that, Shouyou,” came Keiji’s voice in the background, and Shouyou squealed.

“Anyways, how are you Daddy? What did you do today?”

“I’m doing alright, Shouyou. Today was pretty boring. All office buildings and no video games. Tomorrow should be fun though. I’ll bring you home something cool, okay?” At Shouyou’s agreement, he smiled. “Well, alright honey, it’s getting a bit late for Daddy, so I’m gonna go now, okay? You and Keiji have fun.”

“Okay, goodnight Daddy!”

“Goodnight, honey.” The phone clicked and Kenma turned over in the bed. It really had been a boring day. The claws of sleep weren’t slow to pull him in.

Kenma woke up in the middle of the night thinking. Thinking about Keiji. Why was he thinking about Keiji? He shook his head and pulled the covers over his head, and sleep claimed him once more.

The morning dawned early and Kenma was ushered out of his room to an unnecessarily extravagant breakfast. He was a gamer, for goodness sakes. Shouldn’t they expect him to survive off of junk food or something? Not that he did, but he certainly didn’t need fruit salad and quiche.

After breakfast, he was driven back to the company building and they brought him to the testing floor. He was instructed to test each product and then fill out a commentary sheet on its usability, quality, and potential compatibility, amongst other things. He spent the whole day testing new products and rating them, and at the end, they treated him to a nice dinner.

On the way back to the hotel, Kenma stopped in a toy store and browsed around. He needed to find something that would interest Shouyou, but would also be easy enough to carry onto a plane. The shopkeeper stopped him.

“Can I help you, sir?” They chatted for a few minutes and the shopkeeper directed him towards a buildable marble run that came in a bag with handles. Kenma was happy to dish out that rather high price. Shouyou was sure to love it. He reached the hotel and called back home again.

“Hello?”

“It’s Kenma.”

“Oh hi! Would you like me to put Shouyou on the phone?”

“Not yet, not yet. How are you doing?”  _ Why did I say that? _ thought Kenma.

“Oh, I- I’m doing alright. Thank you for asking, Kenma. Shouyou’s been a pleasure,” Akaashi said. His lilt was light and cheerful and Kenma felt his lips curl into a smile.

“Really? His isn’t too much for you?”

Akaashi gasped dramatically. “Of course not! Why do you ask?”

Kenma paused. “I may be hiring you again, Keiji.” The other man laughed and handed the phone to Shouyou.

“Hi Daddy!”

“Good evening, Shouyou. How are you today?”

“Keiji and I made a pizza! We went to the store to get ingredients and I put olives and peppers on mine and it was really good! Oh and we went to the park and my friends were there,” he said.

Kenma laughed. “I’m glad you had a good day. I’ll be home tomorrow before you wake up, okay?”

“Mhm! I don’t want Keiji to leave, though…”

“I’m sure he’ll come back sometime, Shouyou,” Kenma replied. Based on how well he seemed to be handling Shouyou’s energy, and how much fun Shouyou seemed to be having, Kenma had no qualms about hiring Keiji again if it became necessary.

“Oh!” Shouyou began to whisper. “I’m not supposed to tell you this either, but Keiji and I-” he was cut off.

“Shouyou?”   
“It’s Keiji again. This one is really supposed to be a surprise. I promise it’s nothing bad,” he said. Kenma laughed again and assured Keiji that he trusted him.

“Tell Shouyou goodnight from me. I’ll see you both tomorrow. Have a good evening!”

~~

Kenma unlocked the door as quietly as he could. It was only five in the morning, and the longer that Shouyou was capable of sleeping, the better. He pulled his bags through the door and made his way to his room. The door was cracked open, and he peeked in. Keiji was fast asleep in the bed. His glasses rested nearby on the nightstand. Kenma felt himself smile endearingly, then shook it off.

_ What was  _ that _? _

He pushed the door open quietly and placed his bags down by the closet. Just as he was about to leave to go sit on the couch, he heard a soft “hello?”

He turned around. Keiji was awake and squinting at him.

“Oh, good morning K-Keiji. It’s Kenma.” He walked over, grabbed Keiji’s glasses for him and slid them onto his face. Maybe he held on a little too long. Maybe.

Kenma cleared his throat and turned away. “Thank you for taking care of Shouyou. Are you sure he wasn’t too much? He’s never had a successful babysitter before.”

Keiji smiled. “He truly was such a pleasure. I love how happy he is about everything. Well,” he said, pushing himself out of the bed, “I’ll get changed and then I’ll be on my way.”

“Ah, alright,” said Kenma, trying not to sound disappointed. He left the room and sat down on the TV room couch. While he waited for Keiji, he tried to work up some courage. Finally, Keiji came in.

“Would y-” Kenma coughed. “Would you like to stay for breakfast?”

Keiji brought a hand to the back of his neck and looked to the side. “Ah, I’m sorry, but I have to get out to work.”

“Oh, alright then,” said Kenma. This time, the disappointment did seep into his voice. “Well, maybe next time then.”

Keiji smiled and agreed, and then left.

He found the plate of cookies when Shouyou dragged him to the kitchen.

~~

It was a sunny afternoon, and Kenma and Shouyou were walking to the grocery store. Shouyou was making up a song about the sidewalk and swinging Kenma’s hand wildly, and Kenma was trying his best to follow along. Out of nowhere, Shouyou started crying.

Kenma scooped him up into his arms. “Oh, goodness, Shouyou, what’s wrong honey? Talk to me.”

“I m- I,” Shouyou took a deep breath and wiped his face on Kenma’s shoulder. “I miss Keiji,” he said, tears spilling back up.

“I’m sorry Shouyou… You could’ve said something sooner, okay? I’m not angry at you, but next time, please say something sooner.” Shouyou nodded, and Kenma carried him the of the way to store.

It had been a few months. Kenma found himself staring at his phone that evening, finger hovering over the call button. Why was he nervous? He pressed it.

_ Ring _

_ Ring _

_ Ring _

_ Ri- _ “Hello?”

“Hi Keiji. It’s Kenma.”

“Oh, hi Kenma! How have you been? How’s Shouyou? It’s been a while!”

“Yeah, about that, I was wondering if you were available this weekend? I’m, well, I’m not going anywhere, but Shouyou really misses you. I’ll pay full price.”

There was a silence over the line, and then an ariose voice sounded.

“Are you sure it’s Shouyou who misses me?”

Kenma’s face grew red and he pressed a hand to his mouth. After a moment, he said, “Yes,” but it came out must squeakier than he wanted it to.

“Heh, okay. I’ll be there around six if that’s okay.” Kenma agreed and ended the call. He tossed his phone on his bed, twisted around, and flopped onto it.

“He knows what he’s doing. He’s gotta know. Surely he knows,” Kenma grumbled.

“Knows what, Daddy?”   
“Shouyou! You’re supposed to be asleep.” He sat up. Shouyou was clutching his blanket and plush ball and his arms.

“Who knows what, Daddy?”   
Kenma sighed. “Oh it’s nothing important Shouyou. Did you want to sleep here tonight?” Shouyou nodded and climbed into his dad’s arms.

Saturday came quickly. Shouyou was up early and Kenma woke up to the smell of smoke. He had to grab Shouyou away from the oven where a heap of burning pancake batter sat. After the mess was cleaned up and the smoke was cleared out, he helped Shouyou make pancakes and they had a rather pleasant breakfast.

After breakfast, Shouyou went off to do something or other, and Kenma stared at the clock. Time passed really slowly when he was paying attention.

“I’ve got to find something to distract me.”   
So, he cleaned the bathroom. Then he cleaned his bedroom, ate lunch, and made Shouyou clean his bedroom too. In fact, he cleaned the whole apartment. He let himself glance at the clock.

“Two-thirty?!” he exclaimed. He hauled his gaming console out of his room and spent a while trying to figure out how to hook it up to the television, and taught Shouyou how to play one of his games. He let himself look at the time again after they completed six levels. It was finally almost six.

The doorbell rang and Kenma almost knocked himself out racing to answer it. Shouyou followed close behind. Composing himself, Kenma opened the door. “Hi, Keiji.”

Keiji smiled. “Hi Kenma. I brought pasta salad.” He handed the bowl to Kenma and looked down. “Hi, Shouyou.” Shouyou looked up at him, confused.

He turned to Kenma. “Are you going somewhere, Daddy?”

“No, honey,” replied Kenma, “I just thought that Keiji could come hang out with us this evening. Is that okay?”

“Yeah!” Shouyou grabbed Keiji arm and pulled him into the apartment and through the halls. “I’m working on the marble run that Daddy got me last time you were here. It’s really big!” heard Kenma. He sighed, smiled, and moved to the kitchen to put down the bowl.

He made his way to Shouyou’s room and leaned against the frame. Shouyou and Keiji were sitting across from each other, the massive marble spanning the room between them, and Shouyou was explaining all the different little mechanisms. Keiji seemed like he was really paying attention. It melted Kenma’s heart.

After a few minutes, Keiji stood and picked Shouyou up. “We gotta have dinner, buddy! I know your tummy is grumbling!” He held Shouyou’s stomach to his ear and nodded. “I was right.” Shouyou giggled and kicked his feet out. The trio went to the kitchen.

The pasta salad was delicious. Keiji said he added red peppers because Shouyou had liked them on his pizza, which Kenma found endearing. Kenma put on a movie after they ate, but it didn’t take long until Shouyou was nearly asleep.

“I can take him to bed,” said Keiji, and Kenma let him. Meanwhile, he cleaned up the dishes, grabbed two wine glasses and a bottle of wine, and set them down on the table. Keiji came back and sat down on the couch quite close to Kenma.

Kenma poured them both a glass of wine, and for a while they watched the movie in silence. It was unclear who broke the silence, but eventually they were chatting about anything and everything. It was lighthearted, at first.

Keiji paused the movie. He turned to Kenma. “I don’t mean to be intrusive, and feel free to not answer, but what happened to Shouyou’s mom?”

Kenma gulped down the rest of his wine and poured himself another glass before answering. “I’m sure you’ve noticed how young I am.”

“Twenty-four, right?”

Kenma nodded. “In highschool, when I was still pretty unsure about my sexuality, I fooled around with a girl in my grade. She got pregnant, decided to keep the baby. D-” he took a breath. “Died in childbirth. I owned up, and now Shouyou’s mine.” Keiji nodded solemnly. He didn’t say anything for a while after that.

Kenma swallowed when he finished his second glasses. “Keiji, I-”

“It’s okay,” he interrupted.

“Listen to me, Keiji, goddamnit, I’m trying to confess to you!” Kenma realised what he said and slapped a hand over his mouth.

Keiji only laughed into his glass. “I know.”

“Yeah exactly, you- wait, what?” Kenma looked over, eyes wide.   
“Did I not make myself obvious enough over the phone?”

“Well, I guess you did.” Kenma paused. “Anyways, you have Shouyou’s stamp of approval, and I- I… well, you know. My point is, can I take you out on a date sometime?” Keiji smiled and nodded. Kenma pulled the blanket off the couch’s arm and wrapped it around himself and Keiji, and snuggled up closer.

“Stay tonight.”

“Okay.”

“And breakfast tomorrow?”

“Yeah.”

“Good.”


End file.
